Startups Venture

Africa-Based Yassir Lands Massive $150M Raise

Algeria-based on-demand service provider Yassir landed one of the continent’s largest raises of the year with a $150 million Series B.

The round was led by BOND, with participation from DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures (aka Spike Ventures) and Y Combinator, among other investors. 

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The round is tied for the largest raise by a VC-backed Africa-based startup, matching crypto exchange KuCoin’s $150 million Series B in May, according to Crunchbase data.

On-demand services

Founded in 2017, Yassir offers a variety of on-demand services via its app, such as ride hailing, banking, and food and grocery delivery. The company operates in six countries and 45 cities, being particularly popular in the Maghreb region — Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia — and parts of French-speaking Africa.

The app has more than 8 million users, according to the company. Yassir plans to use the new proceeds to expand its reach into the region. 

“Yassir means ‘easy’ in Arabic, and our mission as a company is to make people’s lives easy,” said Noureddine Tayebi, founder and CEO, in a release.

“In the markets where we operate, we are already having a considerable impact on how people manage their day-to-day lives,” said Tayebi, a Stanford alumnus. “We look forward to expanding our presence into other geographies to become the first super app to achieve mass adoption.” 

Fundraising in Africa is often overlooked when discussing venture investment. Only a half-dozen VC-backed startups in the region have raised rounds of $100 million or more this year, per Crunchbase. 

While Yassir did not release a valuation, the company did say it is one of the highest valued companies in Africa and the Middle East. 

 The company has now raised $193.25 million. It last raised a $30 million Series A nearly 12 months ago led by WndrCo.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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